Ok so my husband grew up with a husky dog. I haven't but I have done my research. We went to an animal shelter yesterday and low and behold there were 2 huskies stuck in those tiny cages.

I NEVER imagined I would ever consider getting two dogs. Now I don't know. One is a year or so and the other is about 6 months. Should I even consider rescuing both? Will they bond with each other instead of my husband and I? Will they be too much trouble?

Granted before we would consider getting them we would see how they got along when we put them together. Both are female. I don't know what to do...HELP!

What do I do?

Hi and welcome!

There's an age-old saying... "Two huskies are always better than one."

The pros: They expend energy on each other instead of energy on you or your things. They usually come with less separation anxiety. TWO HUSKIES to cuddle with

The cons: It's clearly more expensive. They will play with YOU less, but that doesn't mean that they love you less. It is sometimes harder to train two at once as they take each other's bad habits.



The reality of the situation is that if you can afford two, and are ready for the training commitment of two dogs... I would recommend two over one. Getting Hailey was the best thing we ever did.

And I would ask to see them in the yard together first just to be sure that they DO get along. Two females doesn't make a difference. They are just as likely to get along as any other two huskies

Welcome and so happy to hear you want to rescue! here is my thought... there is a good chance you will add a 2nd to your pack at some time so why not do it at the same time!

ok now on to the real things to think about, both are young so your not undoing to much from previous owners. you will have A LOT of training to do, but they are past the puppy puppy stage!
2 females have been know to either get along great their whole life or you might have an issue between the two, but hey that can even happen with M&F pairs. they will hopefully bond with each other but you will set it up so they see you and your husband as the PACK LEADERS, its all in training. your husband has had huskies but was it when he was young and does he remember all the work that went into having the husky? not saying you have to know everything but have you refreshed your memory with what it takes to be a husky owner, if you are ok with all that i say go for it, they BOTH need a loving, caring, and lifelong home to go to. i really think also as far as cost go it was a lot of money off the bat to get 2 dogs (we adopted a month apart!) but in the end it levels off and it really is not that much more then owing 1 dog.

do you have a secure yard and the work times to make sure the huskies are happy and tired out? now being 5 months she is to young for lots of exercise but the 1yr is getting into her teen yrs and need more walks.
let us know what you do, look around the site as im sure it will give you a clear picture of what to expect at all ages of the husky!

Thanks for the advice everyone and please keep it coming!

Both my husband and I are teachers so we are off from now until the end of August. After that we will be gone from 7am to 4pm every day. We have a secure backyard and a covered area of the porch we are considering putting in a misting system for when we are gone.

Could we leave them outside when we leave?

I would never leave mine outside unattended. Too much can go wrong and huskies are escape artists on top of having a high prey drive and curiosity/independence. Unless your walls/fencing are 8 foot high concrete... I wouldn't consider it, but that's just me.

Your situation (being teachers) is perfect for getting a dog if not two right now. They'll need that amount of time and work.

I would get crates and crate train them (if you get both but even if you only get one) and leave them crated during the day. It's safer for them and as long as you can commit to morning and evening playtimes, I think they would be fine with a 7-4 schedule.

Great advice from Tori and Jenn.

Jenn had a good point about when your hubby had huskies. I was like you...never had a dog before, but hubby had an Akita when he was still in school, living at home. During his college years, he's had roommates that owned huskies and timber wolf hybrids. So when we decided to adopt a husky, I expected A LOT more of the training, discipline and care from hubby. Sure I did the research, but as it turns out, having a dog as a pet when you're still in school, living with mom and dad, and when you're in college didn't mean much for my hubby. I turned out the be the trainer, the care giver, and the disciplinary. My hubby was just immature during his college years - and not to say your hubby was, but mine didn't know much, and neither did his roommates, leaving me to figure it out with the help of this forum and other references.

Another thing to think about, as Jenn stated, are your work schedules. If you both work full time and drive somewhere to work, think of how much time they will spend alone, and think about how much you both will need to spend exercising them before and after work. If one of you has the luxury of a flexible schedule or work from home part of the day or all day, that would help tremendously when they are at the age of having a lot of energy to expend. As Tori said, they would expend energy on each other, but you would still need to exercise them, until you get to a point where you would feel comfortable leaving to play with each other while you're gone for work.

In any case, kudos to you for rescuing, and doing your research before adopting!
Please keep up posted!

I called to check on the dogs and the good news is that it got picked up by it's owner. The dog had just gotten loose. So right now we are looking at the one that is left.

The bad news. My husbands parents don't like the idea of not knowing the dogs background and not knowing where the puppy has come from and worry about potential health issues in the future. Is this a valid concern? I really wanted to rescue a pup who "needed us". Anyway, now my husband is considering a brand new baby puppy from a breeder.

Do you think it's better to get from a breeder vs. rescue?

All of my dogs are rescues. As much as I think about one day getting a red/white from a good breeder or importing a GSD... There's just something in me that doesn't like the idea of purposely breeding 2 dogs together and getting money for it. Just something about it i'm not comfortable with. For us, I think it will always be rescues. I feel i'm saving the dog that i'm adopting, the dog who will take it's place, as well as the family who would have been enamored by it's looks and impulse adopted

The Siberian Husky breed is a lot hardier than let's say the modern day GSD. Health issues are very limited and can be taken care of somewhat easily if they arise.

arooroomom wrote:

As much as I think about one day getting a red/white from a good breeder

Sorry to totally jump off the subject of advice here (lol), but Kristina I thought about you today! I met a 4month old red/white with the most beautiful blue eyes at the park by my house today. Guess what his name was? Kody! He was ADORABLE, but I couldn't help but feel bad for him. You could tell that the owner didn't know a DAMN THING about huskies. First of all, when I told him that my Kody was 9months he was like WOW, HE'S BIG. I'm like ummm yeah they do grow you know? Second, he was running with him in this heat and humidity at 4months old! I told him that I was just walking with Kody because he was only 9months and they shouldn't get ran until they're a year old. Also, he didn't have any water with him either and was surprised as to how hyper Kody is!

It was hard for me to give him advice because he didn't speak any english and when I'm forced to speak spanish without throwing in an english word here and there I get stuck..lol. Plus, I'm Cuban and he must have been from south america so that made it worse since we don't use the same words for a lot of things. I don't think he was understanding me too well.

I just wanted to steal the little Kody and take him to you! LOL!!

Both mine are rescues as well.

We didn't have much on Ginger's background. And we saw the small issues that were easily taken care of, and they healed. And if there were any 'major' health issues that came up within the first 30 days of adopting, we could bring her back.

I had full vet records on Storm, and I was made aware of his thyroid issue which may not be a permament thing as he is also overweight. Before I rescued him, I was given the vet's name and they were informed I was authorized to have any and all medical information on Storm if I called. If there were any major medical issues within the first 30 days updon adoption, I could also 'return' Storm.

I thought a puppy would be cool and cute and fun, but you can easily train an older husky and there are so many out there that need a good home because someone thought they were so cute and beautiful and wanted a husky puppy but proved to not be the breed for them because they did not do their research before getting one and went solely on their looks.

Thanks for the advice guys, I really appreciate it!

Rescue here too. Our guy is still only 5.5 months, we've only had him almost 4 weeks now (holy cow!) but I wouldn't trade him for all the "puppy times" we didn't have. He's been a great dog. I fully 100% support rescuing, but I'll admit I'd love to get a little 8-week old puppy for the challenge of it all some day.

Aw Mel! I totally would have just nabbed the puppy Kody, no questions asked lol I'm going to start trolling petharbor and craigslist... I'm sure he'll pop up

Rescue ...........................to many from breeders that end up with rescues.

Help break the cycle.

That "you don't know their background" scare runs in my family too. I have some family members that insist the only way to get dogs is from breeders because "rescues are nightmares." Really? Cause my two adopted rescues are WAY better behaved than your breeder's dogs and have had way fewer health problems too.

If asked, I will always recommend rescues. We've had (knock on wood) little to no health problems with ours and I wouldn't trade them in for the world.

Hello I'm new to this forum and glad I found this topic! I just got a Siberian Husky puppy last week. She turned 11 weeks this Monday. Will not go into details in this thread as to not go off subject, but she is wonderful, even though she came with a tummy problem from the pet shop. Anyways, I was super excited to see there are some Miamians here lol I definitely look forward to getting to know you all and learning a lot more about my wonderful Dixie I would not go back and change Dixie for anything, but I would likely consider rescues in the future. I knew how much work there would be when hubby and I decided to our husky, but as others have mentioned people unfortunately do not research before, and often will give away their huskies. It's a sad cycle and if one person can make a difference by rescuing - then I would definitely go for it!

firecallie wrote:

The bad news. My husbands parents don't like the idea of not knowing the dogs background and not knowing where the puppy has come from and worry about potential health issues in the future. Is this a valid concern? I really wanted to rescue a pup who "needed us". Anyway, now my husband is considering a brand new baby puppy from a breeder.

Do you think it's better to get from a breeder vs. rescue?

There are pros and cons to both buying from a breeder and adopting, ultimately it will be up to you and your family.

Just keep in mind that BOTH breeder pups and rescues will come with their own unique set of issues to work out. So don't think that by buying a puppy from a reputable breeder you won't have a challenge on your hands. You will have a lot of work ahead of you no matter which route you go.

I don't have enough time to reply as much as I would like to right now but know that I will always much prefer rescuing over getting a breeder pup if the only thing you are looking for is a companion and not a show or official working sibe. All three of our dogs are rescues and of course we had issues to work out in the beginning (we'd have to work out issues with a puppy too) but with a little time, attention, patience and love they have turned out to be wonderful and I wouldn't trade them for anything in the world. I honestly don't think I could ever purchase a dog from a breeder knowing how many wonderful dogs are out there needing a home.

As Kristina mentioned, sibes are a pretty healthy breed. You do have a health guarantee and a will have a better grasp on a breeder pup's health based on their ancestors but it's no guarantee you won't ever had a health problem even in a truly great breeder's litters. Just something to keep in mind.

SOAP BOX ALERT!

I tell people it's a crap shoot when taking in a dog, either from a rescue or breeder. Just like a human child one cannot predict what the future holds health wise. The one thing that is certain in where they come from is that with a rescue you are SAVING A LIFE, with a breeder you are perpetuating a deadly problem of pet over population. Sorry to sound preachy but I do Siberian rescue in Oklahoma and I have seen way to many throwaways and puppy mills. It's time we no longer treat man's best friend as a commodity and a substitute for having real employment.

Jocieness wrote:

Anyways, I was super excited to see there are some Miamians here lol

Hi there and welcome! I'm in Miami also! Where are in Miami do you live?

I would love to see a pic of Dixie! =)

You guys all make me feel bad. Aevyn wasn't a rescue, we did the puppy thing. However, if we could've rescued we would've.

We have two cats, and those we rescue. Just couldn't risk their safety on an older dog unfortunately.

I'm not helping the Husky rescue problem, but I'm helpin' those kitties?!

KareBear wrote:

You guys all make me feel bad. Aevyn wasn't a rescue, we did the puppy thing. However, if we could've rescued we would've.

This is the only situation I actually fully support buying a puppy Don't feel badly! We just tend to be pretty rescue heavy on this board There are plenty of us with breeder pups though!

Not meaning to make anyone feel bad. Rescue folks like me get over zealous sometimes trying to educate folks. We see so much of the bad side of people but at the end of the day nothing replaces a loving caring owner. Dogs with that type of environment won't be the ones ending up in the shelter.

Puppy or rescue you will never be 100% sure of a life long "healthy" husky! i support rescue always, hell all the dogs in there came from some kind of "breeder" and if they know what they are doing in the breeding then that dog should be healthy.....
just something to think about

MelissaI wrote:

Jocieness wrote:

Anyways, I was super excited to see there are some Miamians here lol

Hi there and welcome! I'm in Miami also! Where are in Miami do you live?

I would love to see a pic of Dixie! =)

I will definitely have to post one up once I figure out how hehe I now reside in Miami Shores, but am originally from the Westchester area and still work and go to school in that area.

What about you?

Haha, funny! I went to Coral Park in Westchester and my parents live off of 109th and flagler. Right in sweetwater by FIU! I live a few minutes away from the grove! =)